House prices fall for first time since April 2009

House prices in Canada fell 1.1% in September, ending a string of 16 straight monthly increases, new data shows.

The Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index last fell in April 2009, with price tags on homes falling in all six major metropolitan markets for the first time since last February.

The biggest drop was recorded in Halifax where prices dipped 2.4%, followed by Calgary at 2.2% and Toronto at 1.6%.

Overall, the index is still 7.9% higher than it was 12 months ago when the Canadian property market was booming coming out of the recession. Each month however, year-over-year comparisons are getting smaller, the report said.

According to Teranet-National Bank preliminary data, Calgary became a full-fledged buyers' market in October.